Post-traumatic cerebral infarction: A rare complication in a pediatric patient after mild head injury

Abstract

Because the cases of post-traumatic cerebral infarction in children are uncommon, little research has been done on this subject. The case of a 14-month-old child who had cerebral infarction after mild head injury is discussed. He fell from a height of approximately 70 cm 12 hours before. He did not use his left arm after the injury. His parents took him to the public hospital, where he was investigated in terms of mechanical complication and was observed for six hours, but no computed tomography (CT) scan was performed at that time. The patient was then presented to our department by his parents. He was not able to walk and was sitting. His neurological examination revealed right hemihypoesthesia, hemiparesis and mild left facial paresis. CT showed a hypodense region in the right basal ganglia location. The right lateral ventricle seemed mildly compressed due to edematous changes. The magnetic resonance imaging revealed hyperintense signal changes that affected the right lentiform nucleus and the head of the caudate nucleus. The aim of the case is to remind emergency physicians that post-traumatic ischemic stroke is uncommon but may be the cause of disability in pediatric patients, and a systematic physical examination must be performed in all ages even if the patients appear quite well.